George Cukor : A Double Life : A Biography of the Gentleman Director

Through 50 years and 50 films--from Holiday and The Philadelphia Story to Camille and My Fair Lady--George Cukor created some of Hollywood's greatest motion pictures. The first book to discuss Cukor's homosexuality openly, George Cukor: A Double Life is a sympathetic portrait of a man "whose long career is all the more impressive given the double life he was forced to lead". George Cukor is best known for directing witty comedies, but he also made wonderful dramas and musicals. He adapted many of his films from theatrical productions, but with such technical proficiency that they rarely felt stagy. In his long and productive career, he made classics such as Camille, Holiday, The Philadelphia Story, Adam's Rib, A Star is Born, and My Fair Lady. Patrick McGilligan's excellent biography gives the story behind the making of these and many other movies as well as terrific insights into Cukor's Jewish upbringing, his homosexuality, his reputation as a "woman's director," and his long-time association with Katharine Hepburn, with whom he made 10 films.